PARIS, France (AFP) — At least 2,000 people were evacuated from Paris’ main airport on Saturday and eight flights cancelled after an individual went into a “restricted area” without going through security controls, airport sources said. “We had to evacuate to ‘decontaminate’ the zone, meaning check to make sure no object had been left,” said one of the sources. The evacuations were from a zone in terminal 2F at the Charles de Gaulle airport that passengers access […]
International
China’s Xi draws ‘red line’ in Hong Kong
by Aaron Tam, Michelle Yun and Elaine Yu HONG KONG, China (AFP) — China’s President Xi Jinping said Saturday Hong Kong was freer than ever before but laid down an uncrossable “red line” for any challenge to Beijing’s authority as the city marked 20 years since it was handed back by Britain. Xi spoke in a televised address after swearing in new Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam as pro and anti-Beijing protesters clashed close to the ceremony. Lam […]
Former Syrian defense minister dies in Paris
PARIS, France (AFP) — Syria’s former defense minister Mustafa Tlass, a close friend of President Bashar al-Assad’s father and predecessor Hafez, died in Paris on Tuesday, his son Firas said. He was 85. Tlass, whose other son Manaf was among the most high-profile regime officials to defect during the early days of Syria’s uprising, died in a hospital on the outskirts of the French capital. “Tlass died this morning at the Avicenne hospital and will be buried in Paris in […]
Gunman opens fire on New York hospital, killing doctor
by Thomas Urbain / Catherine Triomphe Agence France Presse A man opened fire in a busy New York hospital on Friday afternoon, killing a female doctor and wounding six other people before turning his weapon on himself, according to officials. The shooter was himself a doctor and former employee of the hospital, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio and police chief James O’Neill, who ruled out a connection to terrorism. He entered the building in […]
Protests in Hong Kong as Xi swears in new leader
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — President Xi Jinping swore in new Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Saturday as the politically divided city marked 20 years since it was handed back to China by Britain, with clashes between pro and anti-Beijing protesters close to the ceremony. Lam was selected by a pro-Beijing committee, as were her predecessors, and is already being cast by critics as a China stooge in a city where many are angry at […]
World record-breaker begins tour of France on electric skateboard
MERS-LES-BAINS, France (Reuters) — Roughly 20 years after setting a record for the first world tour on roller skates, Frenchman Fabrice Gropaiz set off on a tour of France, this time on an electric skateboard, in preparation for his next around-the-world journey. Public-relations specialist Gropaiz became the first person to successfully rollerblade around the world when he arrived at Paris’ Arc du Triomphe on April 30, 1999, after completing 27,000 kilometers in 28 months. At […]
Trump declares ‘patience is over’ with North Korea
by Jerome Cartillier Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump declared that the United States had run out of patience with North Korea over its nuclear drive Friday as he welcomed South Korea’s new leader Moon Jae-In to talks at the White House. While Moon has been arguing for greater engagement with Pyongyang as the best way to put the brakes on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Trump made clear […]
Gunfire cuts short celebrations at recaptured Mosul mosque
by Emmanuel Duparcq Agence France Presse MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi soldiers snap victorious “selfies” and pose with a captured Islamic State group flag at the Mosul mosque where jihadist chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi once spoke. “Where is Baghdadi?” they say, taunting the absent jihadist leader at the site of his triumphal 2014 appearance, the only time he is known to have appeared in public as the head of IS’s now-crumbling cross-border “caliphate.” They hold […]
Death toll in Pakistan oil tanker fire rises to 190
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — The death toll from an oil tanker explosion in central Pakistan has risen to 190, hospital and government officials said Friday, as 16 more people succumbed to their injuries. The tanker overturned early Sunday on a main highway from Karachi to Lahore while carrying some 40,000 litres of fuel. It exploded minutes later as crowds from a nearby village gathered to scavenge for fuel, despite warnings by the driver as well […]
Washington approves $1.3-bn arms sale to Taiwan
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump’s administration has approved $1.3-billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan, a United States government official said Thursday, in a move likely to provoke the ire of Beijing which considers the island a rebel province. The US official emphasized that there is “no change to our longstanding ‘One China’ policy” — stating that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of it — which Beijing says is a prerequisite for maintaining relations. Announcement of […]
Driver held after ramming barriers outside Paris mosque
by Gregory Danel / Romain Fonsegrives Agence France Presse CRETEIL, France — A man drove his vehicle into barriers protecting a mosque in the Paris suburbs Thursday, forcing worshippers to dodge out of the way, police and officials said. Muslim community leaders described the incident, which injured no one, as an “attempted attack” and an “Islamophobic act.” It came nearly two weeks after a man rammed a van into worshippers outside a mosque in London, […]
German left-wing protesters vow to disrupt G20 summit in July
HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) — A ten-minute walk from Germany’s heavily-guarded G20 summit venue in the port city of Hamburg lies the graffiti-covered center of the left-wing protest movement vowing to disrupt it. “Capitalism will end anyway — you decide when!” reads a banner atop the Rote Flora, a former vacant theater that was occupied by squatters in 1989 in the midst of demonstrations and street battles. It has since become an alternative cultural center and spiritual home […]





